I was going to put this in the cesspool that is the Klenakis thread or add to Chris' "Adapt or Perish" thread, but wanted to start fresh. A lot of threads ultimately break down in to "But our schedule is so brutal every year...." Obviously, that is true. But is it really that much different than lower tier teams in other BCS conferences? I randomly chose a lower-tier team in the other three power conferences and looked at their schedule compared to ours.
First, I'll categorize.
Tier 1 is in-conference games we (or other lower-tier team) will lose most years.
Tier 2 are tough teams in conference we will lose to more often than not.
Tier 3 are teams in conference we will compete with or beat most years.
OOC1 are out of conference games against pretty good teams
OOC2 are out of conference games against mid-level. Maybe other decent/mid level BCS conference or mid majors that won a bowl game, best I could do.
OOC3 are out of conference that there is not an excuse to lose to. FCS, low level mid majors, whatever.
Our schedule:
Tier 1: Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas
Tier 2: KSU, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech (?), TCU (?). First two are borderline Tier 1, other 2 borderline Tier 3.
Tier 3: Kansas, West Virginia
OOC1: Iowa
OOC3: NDSU, Toledo
Pac 12 - Utah: (Also play 9 conference games)
Tier 1: USC, Oregon, Stanford
Tier 2: UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington
Tier 3: Colorado, Washington State
OOC1: BYU
OOC2: Utah State
OOC3: Weber State
Big Ten - Rutgers:
Tier 1: Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State
Tier 2: Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska, Maryland
Tier 3: Indiana
OOC2: Washington State, Navy
OOC3: Howard, Tulane
SEC - Tennessee:
Tier 1: Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina
Tier 2: Missouri, Ole Miss
Tier 3: Vanderbilt, Kentucky
OOC1: Oklahoma
OOC2: Utah State
OOC3: Chattanooga, Arkansas State
I think these are all pretty comparable.
My point in doing this is the same as Chris doing his article. I get tired of the "tough schedule" excuse. As long as we are a lower-tier team playing in a tough conference, our schedule will be tough. As new legislation develops, it most likely will only get worse.
First, I'll categorize.
Tier 1 is in-conference games we (or other lower-tier team) will lose most years.
Tier 2 are tough teams in conference we will lose to more often than not.
Tier 3 are teams in conference we will compete with or beat most years.
OOC1 are out of conference games against pretty good teams
OOC2 are out of conference games against mid-level. Maybe other decent/mid level BCS conference or mid majors that won a bowl game, best I could do.
OOC3 are out of conference that there is not an excuse to lose to. FCS, low level mid majors, whatever.
Our schedule:
Tier 1: Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas
Tier 2: KSU, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech (?), TCU (?). First two are borderline Tier 1, other 2 borderline Tier 3.
Tier 3: Kansas, West Virginia
OOC1: Iowa
OOC3: NDSU, Toledo
Pac 12 - Utah: (Also play 9 conference games)
Tier 1: USC, Oregon, Stanford
Tier 2: UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington
Tier 3: Colorado, Washington State
OOC1: BYU
OOC2: Utah State
OOC3: Weber State
Big Ten - Rutgers:
Tier 1: Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State
Tier 2: Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska, Maryland
Tier 3: Indiana
OOC2: Washington State, Navy
OOC3: Howard, Tulane
SEC - Tennessee:
Tier 1: Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina
Tier 2: Missouri, Ole Miss
Tier 3: Vanderbilt, Kentucky
OOC1: Oklahoma
OOC2: Utah State
OOC3: Chattanooga, Arkansas State
I think these are all pretty comparable.
My point in doing this is the same as Chris doing his article. I get tired of the "tough schedule" excuse. As long as we are a lower-tier team playing in a tough conference, our schedule will be tough. As new legislation develops, it most likely will only get worse.